


my thoughts will echo your name

by notandie



Category: Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Crazy Rich Asians Series - Kevin Kwan
Genre: F/M, chapter two up now!! - Freeform, i have so much feelings for these two idiots, in desperate need for more charlie/astrid content, set in china rich girlfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-07 20:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16415234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notandie/pseuds/notandie
Summary: 'The thought of him still having feelings for her didn’t scare Astrid. No, it was how badly she wanted to reciprocate his feelings that scared the living shit out of her. She wanted—no, she needed him to know that it wasn’t just him. She had been feeling something too.'Astrid realizes she's still in love with Charlie.





	1. part 1

**Author's Note:**

> i cant believe the astrid/charlie tag only has like 5 stories so i thought fuck it i'll do it myself. and here you have it. this is my first time writing and english isnt my first language so PLEASE GO EASY ON ME. enjoy!!

_“No, Astrid— Charlie was the one who bought the company.” ___

____

__

Her father’s words had been ringing in her head for the past couple of days. The new-found realization that her old flame, the one whose heart she broke days before their wedding, the one who became her shoulder to cry on after Michael had supposedly cheated, the one who treated her so kindly as if she didn’t toss him aside because she was too scared, might still be in love with her kept her up at night. The thought of him still having feelings for her didn’t scare Astrid. No, it was how badly she wanted to reciprocate his feelings that scared the living shit out of her. She wanted—no, she _needed _him to know that it wasn’t just him. She had been feeling something too.__

____

____

Telling Michael she wanted out wasn’t as hard as she expected it to be. It felt nice. Liberating even. Yes, a part of her mourned for the man who was once her husband. She did love him and maybe in another life it would’ve worked out, if he hadn’t changed so much, if she hadn’t turned out to be in love with her ex all this time. Telling Cassian was a whole other story. Her heart shattered at the look on his face when she told him that Daddy was not going to be around as much anymore. And in that moment she was tempted to call the whole thing off for the sake of her son, but she knew that staying wouldn’t be good for either of them in the long run.

Astrid ran her fingers through her hair. She turned to look at the digital clock on her nightstand. The lights flashing red on the clock read 3:42 am. It was as if the numbers were daunting her, urging her to call him like she always did on nights like this. She fought the overwhelming need to reach out to him. The past few days had consisted of her ignoring his texts and calls, burying herself in charity works and just about anything that could take her mind off the fact that after all this time, she’s still in love with him too.

_How the hell did it come to this ? ___

____

____

As if it could read her thoughts, her phone lit up. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand had reached out for her phone and opened the message.  
**Charlie Wu: **Hey stranger! Heard nothing but radio silence from your end these past few days, everything ok?****

********

********

Astrid hesitated for a moment, but decided to reply.

**Astrid Leong: **Sorry, got caught up with the exhibition I’ve been working on:/****

********

********

**Astrid Leong: **What’s up?****

********

********

A picture of them as kids appeared on her phone, signaling that he was calling her. She had set it up on her phone as his contact picture after he complained about how disappointed he was that she didn’t have a picture for him. Like the 5 year old he is. 

“Hey, you,” she heard Charlie said after she picked up. Her heart fluttered in her chest. How the hell can he reduce her to a 15 year old schoolgirl having a crush with just a ‘Hey’? God, she missed him. She missed being on the phone with him, mindlessly talking about their day or nothing in general.

“Hi, sorry for not calling back. I’ve been neck-deep in this thing. I haven’t had the chance to sit down and take a breath since morning or should I say yesterday.”

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was 3 am there.”

“Don’t be, I was having trouble sleeping anyways.”

“Something on your mind ?”

_You _, she wanted to tell him, but she decided to lie.__

____

____

“Pretty sure it was the amount of coffee I had.” She lied.

“Hey, I know I promised I’d help you out with the project you’ve been working on, but I got a conference here in Paris this weekend so I wouldn’t be able to go to Singapore to see you. So I was thinking, wanna come over here so we can play catch up and work on it together ? There’s also this great, tiny boutique hidden in the Marais that I wanna show you. Maybe, it’ll help you with your project?”

Truth was she wanted to. But she couldn’t handle the thought of spending her weekend with him in Paris like they used to when they were kids, not right now.

“I don’t think I have the time to fly all the way over there, not with this deadline.” Astrid said.

“So then use my jet, you’ll get here much faster and you can get actual work done on the plane. C’mon Astrid, I’ll even let you drag me to that shitty restaurant you love. I’ll eat snails for you.”

Astrid let out a chuckle at that. Despite his love for Paris, Charlie always hated French food. “First, they’re called escargot and second, that restaurant is amazing, you just have no taste.”

“I don’t care if it sounds fancy in French. I’m not gonna eat snails,” he retorted.

“Whatever you say, Charlie,” Astrid said with a smile. He never could fail to amuse her.

“So you’ll do it ?” Astrid could practically hear the hope in his voice, tempting her to say yes to his offer.

“Fine, I guess. But if I don’t get this thing done in time, it’s on you.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll see you this weekend.”

“I guess you will,” Astrid couldn’t keep the smile from appearing on her face after that. She truly couldn’t resist him, not when he sounded so hopeful and happy at the thought of spending time with her.

“So,” Charlie started, then stopped for a moment as if he was considering what to say next.

“Spit it out.”

“When were you planning on telling me about the split ?” Astrid heard Charlie ask quietly.

Oh. That.

“I don’t know.I guess I didn’t think it was something I should tell you over the phone,” she murmured.

“Are you okay?” The amount of concern she could hear in his voice made her glad she wasn’t standing up. The urge to bury herself in his arms was overwhelming. She could feel the tears prickling her eyes. 

“I don’t know,” she whispered after a moment of silence.

The silence after that seemed to stretch. Neither knew what to say to that. It was Charlie who broke the silence after a while, “I’m sorry I brought it up, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Astrid let out a watery chuckle and said, “No-no, it’s fine. I’m just overwhelmed with everything going on right now that I haven’t really processed it, you know? It felt good but at the same time I just feel so,” she hesitated for a moment, thinking of the right word to describe her feelings, “I don’t know. Lost, I guess.”

“You sound like you could use a break from Singapore,” Charlie mocked.

“I already said yes, you idiot. I don’t need anymore convincing,” Astrid let out, glad for the lightening of the conversation. “On that note, I’m gonna excuse myself to go to bed. It may be lunch time there in LA but it’s almost 4 in the morning on Friday here. I need to wake up early to pack because I have a plane to Paris to catch. So, night.”

“Well, technically it’s morning there so-” Charlie teased but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Astrid.

“You’re an idiot and I’m hanging up,” she spat, hoping he couldn’t sense the grin on her face from over the phone.

“Sleep well, I’ll see you soon,” Charlie voiced at last, signaling that he was ready to hang up.

Astrid found herself not willing to hang up but she knew she had to. So she did. Dropping her phone unceremoniously on the nightstand, she laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling, her mind occupied by a certain tech genius. She smiled to herself then, glad at how the night turned out, and felt lighter than she had in days. Astrid closed her eyes, hoping that sleep could overtake her then.

_Sleep came easy after the phone call. ___


	2. part ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She looked over the table in his direction, paying attention to the story he was telling her about his mother and her love for exotic fishes. She laughed, wholeheartedly and she noticed the sparkle in his eyes that caught her attention all those years ago. She took a glance at his face, observed the genuine smile on it, the way the skin near the corner of his eyes crinkled and if she hadn't already been in love with him, the happiness radiating off him in that very moment would have done it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not exactly proud of this one but here it is!! the final chapter of my first fic!! enjoy!!

Astrid found herself sitting across Charlie in a little hole in the wall kind of bistro overlooking the Seine that they discovered back in their college days. Talking about everything and nothing in particular, making each other laugh over a glass of wine. 

She looked over the table in his direction, paying attention to the story he was telling her about his mother and her love for exotic fishes. She laughed, wholeheartedly and she noticed the sparkle in his eyes that caught her attention all those years ago. She took a glance at his face, observed the genuine smile on it, the way the skin near the corner of his eyes crinkled and if she hadn't already been in love with him, the happiness radiating off him in that very moment would have done it.

_“Are you telling me you’ve never once tried escargot?” Astrid questioned in disbelief, stopping in her tracks to gawk at the boy she had been calling her boyfriend for the past 8 months._

_“I am not eating snails, Astrid. I’m not a monster. And no, before you ask, I’m not even gonna bother trying. Not even for you,” Charlie grunted._

_“Don’t you love me?” Astrid pleaded, putting a fake pout on her face._

_Charlie laughed at her pathetic attempt to get him to try. “Nah, not that much,” he quipped, automatically avoiding her playful shove at his comment._

_Much to Astrid’s dismay and Charlie’s obvious delight, they ended up eating in a little Italian bistro. A place that they eventually came back to, year after year, even after they broke up, a hidden treasure in her favorite city, a place she could never share with anyone else. ___

__“Earth to Astrid?” Charlie waved his hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention back._ _

__“Sorry, what were you saying?” she acknowledged sheepishly._ _

__“Where did you go just now?”_ _

__“It’s probably the jet lag. You’d think I’d be used to it by now. I’m so sorry” Astrid lied, picking up her glass of wine._ _

__This made Charlie gesture to a nearby waiter, “L’addition s’il vous plait.”_ _

__“So,” Astrid chimed in, the beginning of a smirk forming on her face, “No snails tonight?”_ _

__Charlie grinned into his own glass, a fond smile gracing his features. “You know, I never understood why you love that place so much.”_ _

__“I don’t. It’s just fun watching you squirm,” Astrid was sporting a full blown grin then._ _

__With a roll of his eyes, Charlie said, “You’re wicked, you know that?” He couldn’t help but smile at her revelation, her antics never failing to amuse him._ _

__They fell quiet for a moment before Astrid eventually spoke up._ _

__“Did you ever bring anyone else here?” Astrid blurted out suddenly._ _

__It was obvious that Charlie was taken aback by her sudden inquiry. He went quiet, fiddling with the stem of his own glass of wine. Only after taking a huge sip that he answered her question. “No, I’ve never taken anyone else here. You?” Charlie responded, not meeting her eyes._ _

__“No,” Astrid paused before continuing, “Not even Isabel?”_ _

__“Not even her. This has always been our place. It didn’t feel right to be here with anyone else.”_ _

__His answer left both of them quiet. Both were looking anywhere but each other. The silence was deafening, it lingered in the air, thick and heavy. As if on cue, the waiter appeared with the check in his hands, breaking the silence._ _

__Astrid let out a sigh of relief, mentally kicking herself for asking such a silly question, and moved to stand from her chair. She grabbed her purse and looked at Charlie. He was avoiding her gaze. Stuffing his wallet back in his pocket, he stood up. Charlie made a gesture towards the door, letting her walk first before following._ _

__The car ride back to the hotel was awkward at best. Nothing was said between them. It was uncomfortable for both of them, not accustomed to being in awkward silence when they’re together. No, their version of silence is the comforting kind, the kind that accompanied them during Sunday mornings spent together holed up in her London apartment, during car rides that were definitely not like this one._ _

__The silence still lingered in the elevator, it was also still there when he was walking her back to her suite. It was when they reached her door that Astrid finally spoke up again, “I’m sorry for asking that. It was stupid and I wasn’t thinking.”_ _

__“It took me by surprise, that’s all. Don’t worry about,” Charlie said, giving her what he hoped was a genuine smile._ _

__Astrid pondered for a moment before deciding to go for it. “Wanna come in for a nightcap?”_ _

__That got an actual smile out of Charlie. He tilted his head, a small smile on his face, and gave his answer. “I’d like that.”_ _

__Their conversations were much lighter then, reminiscing on teenage years spent sneaking and messing around with her cousins. Both on their second glass of wine, sitting closely on the living room couch._ _

__“Thanks, Charlie,” Astrid began quietly. With one of her hand supporting her head, she tilted her head to smile at him. She thought he had never looked so beautiful before. With his suit jacket off, sleeves rolled up and face flushed from the wine, laughing at her jokes, she had never been more in love with him. It was as if no time had passed, as if she hadn’t broken his heart, as if they weren’t so fucking complicated._ _

__Charlie was confused. Not sure of what she was thanking him for, he furrowed his brows and voiced out his confusion. “For what exactly?”_ _

__“For not bringing Michael up all night even though I know you wanted to.”_ _

__At that, Charlie let out a breath and glanced down to fiddle with his glass. “Ah, that. Well I figured if you wanted to bring it up, you’d bring it up, so,” he let out. He turned his body to mirror her position, both now sitting very closely together. He started again, “Are you alright, though?”_ _

__“He changed too much. Treated me like complete shit, took me too long to realize,” she whispered hoarsely._ _

__Astrid could feel the tears threatening to spill, her visions blurring. At her saddened expression, his hand went to her shoulder, offering comfort. The gesture left her breathless, never realizing just how much she craved his touch until now. “I guess I was so afraid of losing him again that I lost myself in the process.”_ _

__Astrid wiped a lone tear from her cheek, letting out a watery chuckle. “God, I’m a mess right now, I’m so sorry.”_ _

__“Don’t be,” Charlie reassured. He gave her shoulder a final reassuring squeeze, his hand retreating back to his side._ _

__Astrid immediately missed the warmth, the spot where his hand resided yearning for his touch._ _

__“Him accusing my father of buying his company was the last straw,” Astrid added, hoping to get a reaction out of him._ _

__She felt him stiffen for a moment, facade briefly slipping before regaining control. “Yeah, sorry I wasn’t much help. My guys couldn’t trace back whoever bought the company,” Charlie bluffed, eyes not meeting hers the whole time, suddenly so interested with his wine._ _

__She contemplated for a moment, deciding whether or not to call his bullshit, settle this once and for all._ _

__What does she have to lose anyway?_ _

____Fuck it. _ ____ _ __

____“I know it was you.”_ _ _ _

____His head shot up then. Eyes meeting hers. His dark orbs bore into hers for what seemed like ages. Charlie set his wine glass down on the coffee table, put his head in his hands. “Who told you?” he croaked._ _ _ _

____“It doesn’t matter how I know. I wanna know why you did it.”_ _ _ _

_____“Because I’m still so goddamn in love with you!” _he all but yelled, now standing up and facing her.__ _ _ _ _

______The second the words left his lips she stopped breathing._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Because seeing you so unhappy fucking kills me and in that moment I swore I’d buy China if it meant seeing you smile again.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“All I needed was for you to be happy. It didn’t matter what the cost was. It didn’t matter if it meant losing you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Astrid was simply stunned. Still sitting on the couch, she could only gape at him, unable to speak or do anything. She could feel heart pounding in her chest._ _ _ _ _ _

______Time stood still._ _ _ _ _ _

______At this point Charlie had tears streaming down his face. “God, Astrid, you were so in love with him. That day, on the boat in Hong Kong, I wanted to tell you how I felt. But I could see that he was the one you wanted and I could see how much you were hurting then. I just wanted you to be happy. I had no idea he’d turn out to be like that. I’m so sorry. God I’m so sorr-“_ _ _ _ _ _

________And then her lips were on his. _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ __

________One minute he was rambling about his feelings and the next she was kissing him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She never intended it to be more than just a reassuring kiss, to reassure him that they were okay, that she didn’t blame him for what happened. However, as soon as he was aware of what was happening and his hands were wrapped around her lower back, she found it impossible to keep short._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Her eyes were closed and all she could feel was _him _. His hands on her waist. His mouth on hers.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________All she could hear was him. His lips against hers. His breath mingling with hers as their mouths part. Consuming her entirely._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He pulled apart then, eyes shut, forehead resting on hers, heated breaths lightly gasping for air._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What was that for?” he rasped out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Her hands went up to cradle his face, smiling at the way he leaned into them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“For everything.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“For not giving up on me. I can’t imagine what it was like for you. I’m sorry it took me this long to realize,” Astrid whispered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What changed?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I guess I realized I deserved better, that I deserved to be loved by someone who loves me for me, not for some version of me he thought I could be. Someone like you.”  
“And then I realized it’s been you all along. It’s you. It’s always been you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His eyes lit up then, flickering with relief and a pure form of joy she rarely sees. His lips tugged upwards to form the most adorably relieved smile she’s ever seen . She couldn’t help but return it. What a sight they must be. Two people tangled up in each other’s arms, looking at the other as if they hung the moon, the world around them fading into nothing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She found safety and solidarity somewhere between the expanding onyx in his eyes, and his secure grip. His body inched closer, until their clothes were touching, warming her. Leaving her wanting more the second he stopped moving inward. Forcing her to clutch his shirt, just under each set of ribs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His thumb grazed her cheek while his fingers tentatively rediscovered the back of her neck. Charlie was the one who initiated the kiss then. It was more urgent this time around. His heated breath fell against her mouth as she inhaled, feeling as though he had just knocked the wind right out of her. Until she felt his tongue part her lips and she granted him access, moaning as she breathed into him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He rested his forehead against hers when they parted, eyes opening to meet hers in the dimly lit room. He waited for her to initiate the next move, lips widening when she grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the room wordlessly. He blindly shut the bedroom door with his foot then, following her lead to the bed in the center of the room. Laying her down, his lips descending onto hers, the rest of the world faded into the background, the taste of her lips the only thing keeping him afloat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Love. Them. So. Much.
> 
> anyways thank you thank you THANK YOUU for taking the time to read this story!! tell me what you think about it in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> i love them so much what the FUCK,, anyways tell me if i should post chapter 2 or if i should just end the story here!!


End file.
